Story Highlights

OMAHA (AP) — For the 12th consecutive election, a Republican presidential candidate has been victorious in Nebraska.

Mitt Romney claimed at least four of the state's five electoral votes Tuesday, with only the one tied to the 2nd Congressional District still in question. President Barack Obama won that by a single vote in 2008.

The polls closed across the state after election officials reported long lines but no major problems as voters also elected Republican Deb Fischer to the U.S. Senate, completing a remarkable eight-year journey from little-known state legislator and giving the tea party one of its biggest wins.

Fischer beat Democrat Bob Kerrey, 69, for the seat left open by retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. Her victory gives the GOP control of both Nebraska's Senate seats and all three of its House seats.

Nebraska voters previously had elected Kerrey as governor and to two U.S. Senate terms, but he only returned to the state in March after a 12-year absence.

The ballot also included re-election bids by all three of Nebraska's GOP incumbents in the U.S. House, 26 of the Legislature's 49 seats and measures dealing with hunting and fishing, legislator pay, term limits and impeachment procedures.

Romney's victory Tuesday was expected, as a Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won in Nebraska for 48 years.

That victory by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 was the only Democratic win in the reliably Republican state since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936.

Popular Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has been a longtime Romney supporter, endorsing him in both his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.

Secretary of State communications director Laura Strimple said statewide turnout was projected to be 71% but that it was too early to tell whether that would happen. By midday, there were reports of a heavy turnout, she said.

"Sometimes we don't hear about problems cropping up until after the election. But so far everything looks good," she said.

The state Democratic Party called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to discuss an incident of a voter in Omaha receiving a ballot already filled out for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and incumbent Republican Rep. Lee Terry.

Strimple said her office was aware of one of those incidents and explained that it was a mistake. She said one of the two ballot pages got stuck in the holder as it was emptied into the ballot box. The precinct worker then placed a fresh ballot into the holder for the next voter. That voter discovered the marked page.

Before Tuesday, U.S. Senate candidates Fischer and Kerrey called on some of the biggest names in Nebraska politics. Their race, which appeared to be tightening as the campaigning period waned, was among those receiving the most attention in-state.

The outcome of their race could have national repercussions as Republicans hope to take control of the chamber, even though national polls have left Democrats optimistic they'll retain the majority. Nebraska voters also are determining whether to re-elect the state's three Republican House members and will consider four ballot measures.

Fischer is "a conservative in the mold of Sen. (Mike) Johanns and Gov. (Dave) Heineman," her campaign manager said. Both men campaigned with Fischer in the final week. And on the stump, the 61-year-old state senator from Valentine pointed to an early endorsement from former GOP Gov. Kay Orr, the first woman to hold statewide office in Nebraska.

Kerrey, the former governor and two-term senator, touted himself as a Nebraska-first independent, unafraid to challenge members of his own party. The 69-year-old scored a political coup when former GOP U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel endorsed him last week.

Rich Stites arrived at First Christian Church in Lincoln as the doors opened Tuesday. The 70-year-old independent said he voted for Romney and Fischer because he is worried about the nation's debt.

"It's not that they will make it all go away," said Stites, a retired state employee. "I just have a sense that they'll be more prone to limit any increases in the cost of government."

Nikki Miller, of Lincoln, hurried out of the church on her way to work. The 40-year-old said she voted for Obama and Kerrey because they will do more to help the working class.

"I'm not rich, and I think they do a better job looking out for my interests," she said.

Kerrey's endorsements by former GOP Sens. Alan Simpson, of Wyoming, Warren Rudman, of New Hampshire, may have swayed some voters. But others echoed Fischer's argument: That Nebraska changed in the decade Kerrey spent away from his home state.

"I think Kerrey did a good job when he was in office here, but my biggest problem with him was that he lived away from here for more than 10 years, and suddenly the week before registration ends, he's living here supposedly," said Jan Paulson, 75, a Republican retiree in Omaha.

"He doesn't know Nebraska anymore," Paulson said. "Fischer has lived and worked here. She's worked in the Legislature, and right now I think she's a better fit."

Twenty-year-old Matt Beckwith, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, saw Kerrey's experience as a big plus.

"I just don't really like Deb Fischer, and Kerrey has done the job before," Beckwith said.

In other races, attention was focused on the Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District, where Democrat John Ewing was trying to unseat seven-term Republican incumbent Lee Terry. They've campaigned on the need to balance the federal budget, with both candidates arguing that their pasts prove they're up to the task.

Democrats were challenging Nebraska's other two Republican representatives, but incumbents Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith were expected to win easily because their districts are overwhelmingly Republican.

Voters also were filling 26 seats in the 49-member Nebraska Legislature. Republicans are guaranteed at least 24 seats next year, so the party only needs to win one of the 12 Democrat-vs.-Republican races to maintain control.

Four ballot measures are up for decisions. The proposals would, if passed, enshrine hunting and fishing in the state constitution, increase legislator pay, allow lawmakers to serve up to three terms and make it easier to impeach officials.